Ever since I can remember, I’ve been overweight. In elementary school, I remember comparing myself to other girls.
Why didn’t they have a gut? Where was the fat on their calves? Why didn’t their upper arms jiggle when they raised their hands in class?
In middle school, it was no different. As everyone was becoming more aware of their bodies, so was I. And I wasn’t happy with what I saw. Later in high school was when I really understood: I was a fat kid.
Now, this isn’t a “boo hoo me” sob story. In fact, you’ll find that my story ends well. I had very kind and caring parents. They loved me no matter what. They always told me I was beautiful, no matter my size.
The same went for my friends. I had great friends, and I was not bullied. I got good grades and graduated with honors. I went on to a good college. Now, I have a great job and a husband and kids that I adore.
I’m telling you that “I was a fat kid” because it sets the stage for this review. I was a fat kid, and I became a fat adult. Then I did the Shaklee Cleanse (more on this ahead).
First, here’s a review of my size and the amount of weight I wanted to lose. This is so you can get an idea of where I stood. Before the cleanse, I:
- Was a size 14 in typical women’s jeans
- Carried most of my weight in my stomach
- Had a double chin that annoyed me
- Wore a lot of baggy clothes to hide my stomach
- Was fine with my legs (did not tend to carry weight there)
So, how did I learn about the Shaklee Cleanse?
A friend. My friend Robin in college had done it. I’m not sure where she heard about it, but she was happy with her results. We used to binge on moose track ice cream and movie theater popcorn while cramming for exams in college together.
In other words, she had some weight to lose too.
Now, she looks fabulous (she also runs). And she just recently got married for the first time. I don’t know if that had to do with her weight loss from the Shaklee Cleanse. (But I think it did …)
Below is my experience with the cleanse. I’ve outlined everything into sections. This helped me organize my thoughts. I thought it would help you too.
Before I go into my experience, here are some statistics you might find interesting. These have to do with the overweight and obesity problem in America and the world right now:
- In 2017-2018, about 42.4% of American adults were obese.
- In 2015-2016, about 20.6% of American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 were obese.
- Overall, since 1980, the number of obese people throughout the world has nearly doubled.
Short Version of my Experience
I want to provide an honest report of my experience doing this cleanse. I am not affiliated with the Shaklee Cleanse. It’s not something I’m getting paid for. No one asked me to do it. Let me just say that right off the top.
Before I did the cleanse, I didn’t see a lot of good reviews online. One or two were helpful, but that was it. I had an overall good experience with this diet and these products. So, I thought it would be nice to offer my review.
If you don’t want to read my whole review, though, here is the short version:
1.The Shaklee Cleanse is meant to help you reset your body. You will probably lose weight. More importantly, you should feel more energized and focused. You should also cleanse toxins out of your body.
2.The cleanse lasts seven days, during which you are put on a detailed healthy diet and given supplements to take.
3. You’ll get a booklet that tells you all the fruit and vegetables to eat.
4. The foods you eat are basically all whole foods: vegetables and fruits.
5. You are supposed to drink water all day (six to 10 glasses each day).
6. Be prepared to eat frequently throughout the day (at least every two hours).
7. You take supplements two times a day: Once in the morning and once at night.
8. Overall, I didn’t like taking the supplements because I’m bad at swallowing pills. But … I do think they helped.
9. At the beginning, I felt tired and weak. This got better as the week went on.
10. I also got a headache for the first three days because I dropped caffeine during the cleanse.
11. I lose 5.6 pounds after doing the cleanse.
12. I did truly reduce my food cravings.
13. I went on to lose more because I felt so great, especially about three days after the end of the cleanse.
What Is the Shaklee Cleanse?
Now, let’s go into a little more detail about this diet and supplement plan.
The 7-Day Healthy Cleanse (the Shaklee Cleanse) is a specific selection of Shaklee supplements with a daily diet plan.
The overall goal of the Shaklee cleanse is to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle. It’s pretty strict, so be prepared. Because it is strict, this isn’t a plan you should be doing for a long period of time. Do it for the seven days, then get into more of a “regular” healthy routine. That is the point.
The cleanse is supposed to also help you improve digestion, metabolism, focus, and energy. In real terms, it should help you lose weight too. A pilot study found that the average person doing the cleanse lost seven pounds in seven days. Really, this cleanse is a way to kickstart weight loss if that’s what you want to do.
My Methodology
When I decided to do the 7-Day Shaklee Cleanse, I did want to lose weight. My overall goal was to lose about 20 to 25 pounds. Obviously, I knew I wasn’t going to lose 20 to 25 pounds in one week! But I needed something to help me get started. I was very unmotivated.
Here was my methodology for finding the cleanse and getting prepped:
1. I read up on a lot of different cleanses. My goal was to find something that was pretty short. I didn’t want to do a plan that lasted weeks or months. I also wanted to find something that focused on whole foods. Supplements were okay with me. But I didn’t want to be eating only shakes or smoothies with unknown ingredients. As I said, my friend Robin told me about the Shaklee Cleanse. I decided it would be good for me.
2. I read Shaklee 7 Day Cleanse reviews. I wanted to know how to do the Shaklee Cleanse exactly before I committed to buying it.
3. I made my purchase and read about how to do the Shaklee Cleanse. The kit included a booklet, information, tips, recipes, and, of course, the supplements. I read carefully through all the materials when they arrived.
4. As the materials suggested, I went shopping and bought all of the necessary ingredients. I also had to buy a new blender to start making smoothies.
My Personal Experience Doing the Shaklee Cleanse
I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write up this review before I got started. So, I made sure to keep a diary as I went along with the cleanse.
Basically, I wrote down any ideas or thoughts that came to me throughout the day. Then, in the evening after I had taken my last set of supplements, I cleaned up my notes and gave my overall impression of the day.
Day 1:
Woke up ready to get started! I missed having coffee, but my whole foods breakfast was really tasty. I ate a great fruit salad.
Later in the late morning when I was hungry, I munched on the leftovers. The morning supplements were hard for me to swallow, but I managed.
During the day, I tried to drink a lot of water. I had bought a water bottle that held 32 ounces. So, I basically carried this with me wherever I went and sipped on it. I also grazed on veggie sticks.
As the day went on, I started to get what I think is a caffeine headache. Took my supplements for the evening and had a salad with avocado and full-fat dressing. Good first day but feeling ready for sleep.
Day 2:
I felt like I was going pee all day today. I kept drinking water though.
Again, I got a headache in the day. Felt overall really groggy, not sure this is going to last for me for seven days. I will say, though, that my mind is really sharp. Except for the headache, I am feeling focused. I was able to get a big project done in less time than it usually takes. Now, if I could only get rid of this headache!
At night, the supplements were a bit hard to swallow because I can’t have carbs to settle my stomach.
Day 3:
Went to bed last night with a headache. Woke up with a headache.
I was reading more about people on the cleanse, though, and I think I was not eating enough. I know that my body needs fuel.
Today, I tried to eat more (graze more). This really helped! My headache began to fade toward evening, and I stocked up on a huge salad piled with veggies and loaded with full-fat dressing (olive oil).
I am feeling really full as I head off to bed. I’m even getting better at swallowing pills. I do tend to be going pee a ton of times all day. Because I work from home, it’s not a problem. Also, I think I may be getting my energy back?
Day 4:
No headache when I work up today! Thank goodness! Feeling super energized.
Today was the best day so far. I weighed myself this morning, and I was down three whole pounds! That really boosted my self-esteem and also motivated me to keep going.
My skin is even looking a bit clearer. I have always had redness on the cheeks and some bumps (not really acne), and that has really gone down. Going to bed so excited to weigh myself tomorrow morning and see my new number!
Day 5:
Weighed in today at about the same number, but that’s ok! I really wanted coffee this morning because it’s chilly here in the Midwest, and I’d love a warm cup of Joe. Instead, I had some caffeine-free tea and cuddled with my puppy on the sofa. That did the trick.
I must admit that I’m getting a bit sick of veggie sticks. I am trying to graze like they recommend for the cleanse, but I keep eyeing my husband’s favorite cheese and the deli meat in the fridge. Instead, I reached for cucumbers and pico, and it did the trick.
Tonight, the pills went down smooth but then my stomach felt unsettled. I ate some papaya and cantaloupe that I had cut up earlier and felt instantly better.
Day 6:
Feel like my sugar cravings have gone down. What I really want is a turkey sandwich! But sugar doesn’t really interest me as much anymore because I am allowed to have a lot of fruits.
I do wish I could have more bananas (you can only have one half of a banana every day). But I also find that I look forward to it more than I ever would usually.
I also look forward to the one serving of starchy vegetables that I can have each day. Last night, I had sweet potatoes. Tonight, I centered my dinner around some beets in my salad.
I didn’t drink as much water as I had been today. I think it’s really because I left my water bottle out in the car and couldn’t find it! I just tend to do a lot better when I can constantly be sipping on that. I have it now, and am going to try to get back to my normal water intake tomorrow (last day!).
Day 7:
Last day for the Shaklee cleanse! Holy cow. I was rereading some of the reviews and commiserating with other people on how they did. By the last day, I feel like you are feeling pretty good, but you are ready to be done. That is how I feel.
I am also so proud of myself. I can’t believe I did this. I didn’t weigh myself yesterday or today. So tomorrow, I will find out the total amount of weight I lost.
I feel like if I can do this cleanse, I can do anything I set my mind to. I feel so in touch with my body. I know how bad I was eating before. I hadn’t realized what I was doing to my systems. This has really changed me, and I feel amazing.
Pros and Cons
Overall, here are the pros and cons that I found with this cleanse.
Weight Loss:
I said from the very beginning that I wanted to lose weight. And I did! This was the biggest pro for me.
Healthy Whole Foods:
Instead of forcing you to have smoothie packets with unknown ingredients or popping weird pills, this is a whole foods-centered cleanse.
Not Too Expensive:
When researching other cleanses, this one is one of the least expensive.
Easy Directions:
With the information packet, you know exactly what to do on this cleanse. It’s not hard to understand.
Eat When You Want:
You do have dinner and meals overall. But you can also eat basically whenever you want. You can also eat as much as you want as long as you eat from the approved list.
Good Detox:
You will be drinking of 6–10 glasses of water, and eating plenty of veg and fruit. My body felt like it was detoxing and my skin too.
You can at least have sweet potato:
Your allowed to have sweet potato once a day. Remember sweet potato is a vegetable and is a carb. So you won’t be totally starving!
No Protein:
The lack of protein was tough for me energy-wise. I know that there is protein in some veggies. Still, I am used to eating fish or meat every day. I think this lack of fish and meat led to me feeling tired, especially at the beginning. At the same time, I know that focusing on body cleansing foods (fruits and vegetables) was so helpful in detoxing my body.
Pill Swallowing:
This is one of the Shaklee cleanse side effects that I had planned for from the beginning. I don’t know about you, but I hate swallowing pills. I have never been able to do it easily like some people.
For instance, when I take my usual vitamins, I take them all in liquid drop form. So, for me, the morning and evening pills were a con. At the same time, I know they were helpful with the detox and purifying the liver and with boosting my metabolism.
Missing Caffeine:
I don’t know if I can really count this as a con. It’s just part of the cleanse — you can’t have (or should avoid having) caffeine. This was tough for me because I am used to having at least 3 cups of coffee a day, if not more. I think that if I wasn’t as addicted to caffeine, the cleanse would have been overall better. I just had a raging headache for about three days at the beginning.
Constant Food Grazing:
Be prepared to eat lots of raw fruit and veg just to keep your hunger down. It may feel like your drinking and eating constantly.
No recipes:
Bare in mind the Shaklee cleanse doesn’t give you any recipes to follow. However, you can find ideas on the Shaklee Cleanse FB group and toss things up in one salad to help you.
Key Features
There are five key features to this cleanse:
- Eat whole foods. Stick to fruits and veggies. Focus on veggies.
- Take your supplements. Use the provided packets, and follow the directions for when to take them: One packet in the morning and one packet in the evening.
- Eat as much as you want. The cleanse actually promotes grazing all day long. You are supposed to eat at least every two hours. You just have to stick to the approved list of whole foods (fruits and veggies, plus some olive oil).
- Drink water. The cleanse instructions say to drink at least six to ten glasses of water every day. I used a water bottle and refilled it.
- Have a salad at night. In the evenings, eat a salad. You can use full-fat (olive oil) dressing. You can also have veggie stir fry, but I stuck to salads.
Ingredients Used in the Shaklee Cleanse
Here are the supplements that you take, including the key ingredients and what they help with:
- Probiotic Supplement: Probiotics support intestinal health by promoting good gut bacteria.
- Alfalfa Complex Supplement: Alfalfa is your key resource for green superfoods. This supplement has awesome vitamins, including calcium, phosphates, and chlorophyll. It helps with reducing inflammation, which can do amazing things for your body.
- Liver Detox Supplement: The liver is responsible for flushing toxins. So, this supplement helps normal function of the liver.
- Herb Lax Supplement: This promotes the natural flushing of toxins from the body. It includes a small amount of senna and other herbs.
Overall Ratings
Out of a scoring of 0 to 5 (with 0 being the worst and 5 being the best), here are my overall ratings for the Shaklee 7 Day Cleanse:
- Ease-of-Use: 4.5 out of 5
- Features: 4 out of 5
- Value for Money: 4 out of 5
- Science: 4.5 out of 5
My Verdict
I give this cleanse a 4 out of 5! I am genuinely happy with the results, and I love that it’s so healthy.
So why the 4 stars?
Essentially, the money you pay to do the cleanse is for the supplements. The 7 day cleanse does come with a booklet that details the veggies and fruit to eat. However, there are no recipes. It’s more a guideline.
So be prepared, your paying for supplements you can get from whole foods anyway.
Another reason I knocked off 1 “star” is that I wish they would offer the supplements in liquid form. Just my personal preference.
But overall, I feel like a lot of other cleanses out there are too long. Or, they focus on the wrong foods.
The Shaklee Cleanse focuses on whole foods and rids your body of toxins. You can literally feel it!
However, the truth is you don’t really need to pay for any supplements or booklet in order to do this cleanse…It’s just common sense 🙂
What To Do After Shaklee Cleanse?
Once you have finished Shaklee cleanse, why not learn some life long recipes to keep you lean and mean? As stated above, Shaklee cleanse does not include any recipes.
However, fear not. I came across some fantastic recipes that take no time at all to whip up. Majority of them from a secret little book called metabolic cooking. Its’ dirt cheap!
If your interested the vendor normally sells at a discount which you can find below.
